Chapter 90: Ten Thousand Li River and Mountains? (Bonus Chapter 2)

Xiang Weiyuan pointed to the line about the young master and asked, “Why is this man’s head worth so much?”

The Daoist flipped through the pages of his ledger and said, “According to protocol, a basic Dao Foundation is worth one hundred; each rank—Earth, Heaven, Immortal—doubles the value, and each stage—Foundation Solidification, Soul Awakening, Spirit Nurturing—doubles it again. This young master has a Heaven-rank Dao Foundation and has reached Spirit Nurturing, so his base value has been multiplied thirty-two times, totaling three thousand two hundred merit points.”

Too bad the Liao young master only had one head… Xiang Weiyuan sighed inwardly.

Closing the ledger, the Daoist smiled, “If nothing goes wrong, Kan Bidar will surely become a Dharma Form. To spend thirty thousand immortal taels to buy the life of a future Dharma Form is no loss at all.”

Xiang Weiyuan asked, “How could causing internal chaos earn so much merit?”

“This isn’t a minor matter—it changed the entire battlefield. The True Persons weighed it carefully and awarded two thousand.”

The Tai Chu Palace’s merit system has been in place for thousands of years; every scenario has been encountered, and by Xiang Weiyuan’s generation, it was thoroughly refined, accounting for every detail. Merit fairness is the very foundation of the Tai Chu Palace, personally overseen by Immortal Lords through the ages, allowing not the slightest fraud.

After confirming his merit, the Daoist tucked away the jade paper and handed him a bound booklet, saying, “This is the merit ranking for this grand examination. Everyone’s merit is listed here and updated every seven days, but this book only updates within a thousand li of the mountain gate—beyond that range, it becomes useless. Also, it’s the overall merit ranking for Dao Foundation cultivators; it will activate upon your return to the mountain gate.”

Xiang Weiyuan took the book, opened it, and saw his name at the top. Second was Bao Yun, with over eight thousand merit points. Xiang Weiyuan had ridden a thousand li north alone, wiped out an entire Snow Eagle Cavalry unit in half a day, and slain the Dao Foundation late-stage young master Kan Bidar—only then had he earned twelve thousand merit points. Yet Bao Yun already had eight thousand.

But Xiang Weiyuan recalled quickly—he understood. During his reinforcement of Bao Yun, she had mobilized all allied forces within hundreds of li, pinned the Northern Liao’s nearly ten thousand iron cavalry at the fortress, and shattered the main force of the Agula tribe in the eastern part of Binning Commandery. In terms of battlefield impact alone, Bao Yun was no less than Xiang Weiyuan. Had the young master’s death not triggered the Agula tribe’s internal chaos, Xiang Weiyuan’s overall contribution to the war would have been far less than Bao Yun’s.

Bao Yun commanded several experts and thousands of elite soldiers; most of her merit had to be distributed, yet she still ended with eight thousand. The Liao’s losses must have been catastrophic.

The third name on the list had barely over two thousand; below that, only hundreds or dozens. The grand examination had only just begun; most Dao Foundation cultivators were mere pawns on the battlefield, usually content with ambushing a small patrol, like Xiang Weiyuan had done on his first night.

After settling the merit, the Daoist left the room, no longer disturbing Xiang Weiyuan. Only now did Xiang Weiyuan have time to examine his newly forged Dao Foundation.

He entered his consciousness into the sea of mind, gazing at the boundless earth, at a loss. His Dao Foundation had been formed for some time, and he’d seen it many times before, yet every time he stood upon this endless expanse, he still felt unreal. Who ever couldn’t see the full extent of their own Dao Foundation?

The earth was desolate, strewn with rubble and gravel, utterly barren. Though named “Ten Thousand Li River and Mountains,” it currently held only ten thousand li—the rivers and mountains remained unseen.

Xiang Weiyuan bent down, picked up a few shards of rock, and found them ordinary stones, devoid of any spiritual aura. The ground was entirely composed of such debris; digging deeper revealed increasing gravel, then solid bedrock. He gripped a crack in the rock and tried to pry off a piece. He strained hard—and succeeded, but as the stone broke free, a searing pain lanced through his mind. He remembered then: the rock was part of his Dao Foundation. Forcing it loose was like tearing a fragment from his Primordial Spirit—of course it hurt unbearably.

After unintentionally experiencing the agony of Primordial Spirit tearing, Xiang Weiyuan never dared to be reckless again.

The earth held no life, not even soil. Only at the continent’s center stood a small mountain, a foot tall, entirely emerald green, like flawless jade, radiating divine mystery.

This tiny jade mountain was the product of her senior sister’s decade-long refinement. It seemed small only because it was dwarfed by the entire continent—compared to others’ Dao Foundations, it was anything but.

Li Zhi’s Four Symbols, Three-Legged Cauldron was already tall and heavy, eight feet high, roughly the same size as the jade mountain. But the jade mountain was solid, a full foot in diameter, far thicker than the cauldron, requiring at least enough refinement to forge seven or eight Four Symbols, Three-Legged Cauldrons. If forged into ordinary flying swords, it could yield hundreds.

At the summit of the jade mountain, a dense vitality was gestating, about to sprout soon. Xiang Weiyuan recognized this vitality well—it came from Bao Yun’s fruit. Would a Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree grow upon this mountain one day? Xiang Weiyuan truly looked forward to it.

Though he had seen Bao Yun’s Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree in the Wan Xiang Hall, those were merely faint images and subtle essences, with vague evaluations. After all, it was an Immortal Foundation—no specific abilities were revealed, and the afterimage showed only its initial state. But during his aid to Bao Yun, Xiang Weiyuan had witnessed firsthand how the Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree swept away yellow qi over dozens of li. Though aided by an array, it was still an immense divine art—the most useful on the battlefield, directly altering the environment.

Over the next day, Xiang Weiyuan repeatedly tested himself, draining his Primordial Spirit until empty, until he finally understood his Dao Foundation’s abilities.

First: Transform Heaven and Earth. Like other Dao Foundations, Ten Thousand Li River and Mountains could manifest, but with Xiang Weiyuan’s current spiritual power, he could only manifest a tiny portion centered on the jade mountain—roughly a hundred zhang.

After manifestation, the environment within a hundred zhang of Xiang Weiyuan would shift toward the human realm’s pure zone. If still within Liao territory, no yellow qi would appear within that radius—effectively turning Liao land into neutral territory. Transform Heaven and Earth seemed similar to Bao Yun’s Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree at first glance, but their mechanisms were entirely different.

The Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree used pure qi to scour and forcibly expel yellow qi, like a powerful current washing away silt, while also suppressing and harming those within its range. Transform Heaven and Earth, however, altered the fundamental nature of the environment within its area. Though less potent than the Seven Marvelous Treasure Tree, it was more thorough and enduring.

!.

This ability was no small matter. When enemies entered within Xiang Weiyuan’s hundred-zhang radius, they effectively moved from Liao territory into neutral land, losing all heavenly power—and their strength dropped by two full tenths!

Within ten zhang of Xiang Weiyuan, it became a human pure zone. Enemies approaching would suffer another two-tenths reduction in strength, while human soldiers gained a two-tenths boost.

If Xiang Weiyuan led a human force to meet an equally matched Liao barbarian army in Liao territory, the combined effect of one side’s strength increasing and the other’s decreasing would turn a balanced battle into a crushing rout.

(End of Chapter)